We celebrated our independence from anything remotely interesting to play, but not from controversy and wild gaming industry speculation. Here's what's been going on at Kotaku for the past seven days.

Rumors abound as Microsoft looks to enter the handheld market as early as this Christmas. Will it be a portable Xbox (aka Xboy)? Most likely, no, as Bloomberg makes reference to music and movies and not so much games. We're still predicting some sort of Live-functionality, with on-the-go versions of Live Arcade titles in the mix.

We've also heard rumblings that Nintendo's Gamecube redesign, better known as the Wii, could ship as early as September. Retails models are already in production, but Nintendo is silent. We continue to hold our breath for the slightest Iwata whisper.

Speaking of Nintendo, they were kind enough to take advantage of the PR opportunities of George Dubya's 60th birthday by setting him up with a Nintendo DS and a copy of Brain Age. I'd really like to see how I stack up against the prez in Calculations x 100.

Sony stirred up more ire from the politically correct stormtroopers with their Dutch advertising campaign for the ceramic white PSP. Not only did the internet give Sony Europe what for, but so did the NAACP and the vocal California state assembly speaker Leland Yee. Also see Kotaku's Florian give knee-jerk reactionary types the business!

Just so you're up to speed on all your rumor-mongering, there was a minor hubbub at the end of the week as a mysterious Apple logo appeared on the official PlayStation 3 site. Sony says the wild and crazy speculation is unfounded, that the quick blink of Apple goodness was just an error. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.